New Holland renews sponsorship of nation’s FMG Young Farmer of the Year award and celebrates with presentation of tractor prize

The value and impact of the New Zealand FMG Young Farmer of the Year contest could be seen on the face of the 2024 winner, George Dodson, when presented with his prize, and it’s a big part of the reason New Holland have come back on board as a major competition sponsor.

As part of his 2024 New Zealand FMG Young Farmer of the Year award, George received a New Holland Boomer 25C tractor, which was presented to him earlier this month by CNH Sales Manager Dave Knowles, and Alastair Robertson, from Cochranes, George’s local dealership.

It was a great early Christmas present and worthy recognition for the passionate 23-year-old Canterbury dairy farmer, from Charing Cross in the Selwyn district, having secured the prestigious award earlier this year following rounds of preliminary judging, and finally three days of challenges against six other finalists.

George said he felt like he’d won the lottery, finally being able to get hands on his brand-new tractor.

“It’s going to be very handy around the farm, and we’ll be able to put it to work on a lot of jobs, like mowing roadsides and tanker roundabouts, as well as pulling the milk feeder to and from the bobby calves,” he said, thanking New Holland for sponsoring the competition and for the generous prize.

Dave said the competition was important for recognising the young talent within New Zealand’s agriculture industry and for highlighting the importance of agriculture to the nation.

“New Holland is so proud to be a sponsor of this competition because these young farmers are the industry’s future, and anything we can do to encourage and support our young people to see agriculture as an exciting and important career path is a great investment,” he said.

“We’re delighted to have renewed our sponsorship for another three years and look forward to seeing the incredible talent on show for 2025 and in the future.”

George works on a dairy farm 30 minutes south of Christchurch, and following the end of this season mid next year he has plans to transition to a larger-scale dairy operation.

“I have a number of opportunities within the industry, which I’m looking forward to exploring, and I’m excited about the future of farming here in New Zealand,” he said.